Astros’ McCracken knows path youngsters can take to majors

Director of player development Quinton McCrackenwill be a key figure in delivering major league-ready players to manager Bo Porter and general manager Jeff Luhnow. (Karen Warren/Houston Chronicle)

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Few in baseball could have projected a long major league career for Quinton McCracken when he headed to his first minor league spring training camp 20 years ago.

The 5-7 Duke graduate was the ultimate long shot. In a sport in which top college prospects are drafted and often sign after their junior seasons, he wasn’t taken until the 25th round as a senior.

“You create your own luck,” said McCracken, the Astros’ new director of player development. “If you’re not prepared when the opportunity comes, a lot of guys fall on their face. That’s one thing we preach to these players. You have to be prepared. Don’t be caught literally with your pants down. Work hard; play hard. And when the opportunity presents itself, you have to seize the moment.”

That’s exactly what McCracken began doing in his first spring training with the Colorado Rockies.

True overachiever

He was an “organizational player,” the equivalent of a seat-filler at the Oscars. When McCracken speaks about the importance of believing in the Astros’ player development plan, he can cite his own career as an example of what happens when players buy in.

“Being a guy who was drafted pretty much as an organizational player, a guy with modest skill sets but good baseball acumen, I had good instructors with the Rockies coming up,” he said. “I was able — with the help of a lot of people in that organization — to turn myself into a nice big league career. That’s what I draw on when I help chart a path for these kids here today.”

After finishing his 12-year major league career in 2006, McCracken attended scout school. He spent the last two seasons as the Arizona Diamondbacks’ assistant director for player development.

In Arizona, he worked alongside Diamondbacks vice president-assistant general manager Bob Gebhard, who was the Rockies’ general manager when he was drafted.

“From the time we drafted him out of Duke and got him into our system, we knew he was an extremely bright individual,” Gebhard said. “We converted him from a second baseman to the outfield. He did all the things right that you want a player to do as he matures and continues to develop.”

McCracken is one of the most important people in a franchise committed to rebuilding through the farm system. He wants to build off the lessons he learned from Gebhard early in his career as a prospect and later in Arizona’s front office, where he reported to farm director Mike Bell.

Five of the Diamondbacks’ eight affiliates reached the playoffs last year, and their Class AAA, Class AA, and short-season Class A clubs won titles.

“It was quite a ride,” McCracken said of the Diamondbacks’ success in the minors last season. “Everybody’s interconnected. We want to win, and we want to develop the best young talent in baseball.”

Early start to job

To that end, McCracken arrives at Osceola County Stadium’s minor league complex each day at about 6:30 a.m. He then logs on to his computer to check emails. Then he meets with assistant player development director Allen Rowin and field coordinator Paul Runge.

After that briefing, he returns emails and makes phone calls. Then he heads to the major league clubhouse to check in with general manager Jeff Luhnow or assistant GM David Stearns and manager Bo Porter. He returns to the minor league side for the field staff’s meeting at 8:30 a.m.

He leaves the coaching to the coaches, instructors and managers. Since Feb. 23, McCracken has finished each day at the office by meeting with several prospects individually.

He vows to meet with every player before camp ends. There currently are 153 minor leaguers in camp. McCracken, Runge and Rowin tell each player what the team’s expectations are for him and how the team will try to help the player get better to maximize his skill set and eventually be a “productive organizational player or a productive big leaguer.”

“Some guys get a little antsy in the hot seat, and they just want to hear where they are, their position, what they need to work on,” McCracken said. “You ask them if they have anything to share, and most don’t have much to share as far as feedback. Some want to really get into more in-depth conversations, which we welcome.”

Building blocks in place

The Astros’ farm system is rated among the best in baseball. Five of the team’s prospects are ranked among the top 100 by Baseball America.

Yet all of the farmhands can benefit from the lessons McCracken began learning as the slimmest of long shots 20 years ago with the Rockies. To this day, Gebhard mentions how quickly he realized McCracken was very bright with a strong work ethic.

McCracken loves to remind minor leaguers they must be opportunistic.

“Through the proper instruction and given the proper direction — or as we like to say over here, curriculum — I was able to work my way to get the best out of my tools,” he said. “I was able to do so with the help of good teachers.

“You have to be lucky, too. To a certain degree, I was lucky as a senior sign — as they say ‘an organizational player,’ kind of like a roster filler.”